The West African Health Organization (WAHO) and health sector stakeholders have reviewed the regional work plan to motivate and retain health workers across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member countries.
The President of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), Prof. Ibrahim Yakasai, said that effective workforce retention was essential to ensuring sustainable, quality and accessible healthcare services across the sub-region.
Yakasai, who was represented by Consultant Ophthalmologist Prof. Foluso Owoeye, told the meeting reviewing regional work plans for motivating and retaining health workers across ECOWAS member countries on Monday in Abuja that the meeting would aim to finalise strategies to address the health workforce shortages, improve working conditions and strengthen healthcare delivery across West Africa.
In his goodwill message, Yakasai commended WAHO for its leadership and commitment to strengthening health systems across ECOWAS member states.
He said that the meeting provided an opportunity for stakeholders to address challenges threatening the sustainability, quality and accessibility of healthcare services across the region.
According to him, the strength of any healthcare system depends not only on infrastructure and modern technology, but also on the competence, commitment, motivation and availability of health professionals.
He noted that West Africa has continued to experience increasing health workforce migration, popularly known as brain drain or japa in Nigeria, with serious consequences for healthcare delivery.
The WACS president said the situation was particularly concerning because the college had invested considerable financial and institutional resources in training healthcare professionals.
He questioned the value of training health workers without creating an enabling environment that would encourage them to remain, practise, develop professionally and serve their communities.
Yakasai emphasised that workforce retention should be regarded as a strategic investment in human capital rather than merely an employment issue.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that the regional work plan contained realistic, implementable strategies supported by clearly defined actions, measurable targets, timelines and institutional accountability.
He also called for stronger links between professional training and retention, including specialist training, mentorship, research opportunities and career advancement.
Yakasai further advocated regional cooperation among ECOWAS member states to promote equitable workforce distribution, professional mobility, mutual support and the sharing of expertise.
He emphasised the need to involve healthcare workers in policy development, noting that strategies developed without considering their aspirations, frustrations and experiences might fail to achieve their intended objectives.
The WACS president reaffirmed the college’s commitment to partnering with WAHO and national governments on training, workforce retention, mentorship, research and policy advocacy.
He said the success of the work plan would ultimately be measured by the number of healthcare professionals who chose to remain, serve and thrive in West Africa.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, called for stronger regional collaboration to address healthcare workforce shortages and improve the motivation and retention of health professionals.
Salako, represented by Dr John Ovuoraye, Director and Head of the Department of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, described the review as timely.
“It coincided with other regional and continental initiatives addressing healthcare workforce challenges, including activities marking the 50th anniversary of the West African College of Physicians.
“The work plan should complement broader continental efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery and improve the availability of health workers across Africa,” he said.
He said that the African Union was pursuing a continental action plan targeting the deployment of two million community health workers by 2028.
According to him, the regional framework on motivation and retention can complement the continental initiative by encouraging health workers to remain in their communities and strengthen healthcare systems.
GIK/APA